Friday, December 18, 2009

Jersey says it hopes to undermine British democracy

Britain's democratically elected representatives have decided to try and respond to voters' wishes and to make a stand against some of the excesses that will, according to the FT's Martin Wolf, have cost the UK almost three times 2007 GDP by the year 2030, assuming a pre-2008 growth trend rate. One such response is a tax on bankers' bonuses; another is higher tax rates which are, inevitably, needed, to pay for the mess.

What is Jersey's response? Undermine the UK's efforts! As the Jersey Evening Post notes:

"Housing Minister Terry Le Main sees a ‘huge benefit’ to the Island if British financiers, angered by Labour’s new 50% tax rate and one-off 50% levy on all banker bonuses over £25,000, move across the Channel."

The idea appears to be that a section of Britain's wealthy élite, many carrying responsibility for this appalling mess, will use Jersey to shrug off the costs of the clean-up they helped create, and leave everyone else to clean up.

2 Comments:

Blake's Navy said...

What brazen bravado by Senator Le Main. Has the man no shame? His comments are fully endorsed by the Council of Ministers and Jersey government elite. They see nothing wrong in taking any opportunity to use their fictitious autonomy to undermine fiscal policies of large states in the interest of the plutocracy.

Oliver Cromwell would have know how to deal with this nest of Royalist pirates – he would have sent the navy of Admiral Blake.

"The idea appears to be that a section of Britain's wealthy élite, many carrying responsibility for this appalling mess, will use Jersey to shrug off the costs of the clean-up they helped create, and leave everyone else to clean up."

Wealthy elite = Landowning elite

Tax their land value then that income stream will never get anywhere near Jersey. The remedy is in the British Chancellor's hands.

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The Tax Justice Network (TJN) is an international, non-aligned network of researchers and activists with a shared concern about the harmful impacts of tax avoidance, tax competition and tax havens.
www.taxjustice.net